Pull over, we need to ask for directions
by Konrad9
Summary: A one-off that came from another idea I've been toying with. The UNSC get an unexpected visitor during the first Battle of Earth.


Note: I do not now, nor have I ever, owned in any way, Halo or any of its related copyrights. I have also never owned, nor do I now, any other copyrights appearing in this story.

"They're here."

"How many?"

"15… 2 assault carriers and 13 cruisers, CCS-class and smaller"

"What? The fleet they used to glass Ceti Alpha V was four times that size."

"Maybe they didn't expect us to be here"

Commander Andrew Web gave his sensor officer a knowing look.

Lieutenant Danica Kray blushed, scuttlebutt at the moment was that she wanted her CO for some one-on-one rack time. "Not… you and me. Might have been just another possible colony on.. the.. way… sorry sir."

Web was confident but concerned, sheer numbers dictated he and his ship were fine. The UNSC was usually outmanned and outgunned in fleet combat, never mind the absurd technologic disadvantage. "Comm, has anyone been ordered to attack?"

Ensign Petra Nichols turned ever so slightly towards the center of the bridge, "Negative skipper, all fleet ships are still ordered to wait until the Covenant vessels come in range of the MAC stations."

_Well that's a bad plan_. Web didn't get the command of the _Lancelot_ by questioning orders, and he wasn't going to start during the first Covenant engagement over Earth. "Very well, stay at station-keeping. All remaining Longswords on standby, keep the MAC guns at 85%, I want to be ready when they come up at us. If we don't get at least one kill I'm knocking you all back to cadets."

At the fire control station Lt Ryan Carter called out the charge on the Magnetic Acceleration Cannon, "73.. 75… 78... 83… 85% and holding."

Kray's console was shrieking almost as badly as she was, "Commander, I'm reading dozens of boarding craft and fighters bearing down on the Athens, Malta, and Cairo!"

Web kept his cool, "Get a hold of yourself Lieutenant! How many of our birds are moving to intercept?"

"Wait one." Kray's fingers danced across the keys, analyzing the mess of friendly transponders," 76 Longswords, 40 Shortswords, and… huh, 3 Condors."

Web let out a long whistle, the Condor wasn't supposed to be ready for another 4 months. Essentially a Pelican without the helpful troop transport parts, it was the meanest anti-fighter vessel the quacks at R&D had come up with in years. The craft bristled with 15 auto-tracking 50mm cannons, and was piloted by one soul. Every square micrometer not needed to keep the pilot breathing or the ship moving was gutted and turned in to ammo storage. "As much as I'd love to send our boys over there, there are enough cooks as it is."

And then, nothing. The bridge crew watched the seconds tick by while their brothers in arms fought and died mere kilometers away. Blips winked out as Longswords cut in to Seraphs and Spirit gunners got lucky shots on Shortswords.

The silence was broken when a second sun bathed the bridge with light for an instant, and then vanished. Web yelled at anyone who could get him an answer "What the hell was that!?"

Lt Martin Reynolds at conn, facing out the massive window, somberly answered "That was the _Malta_, commander. It's gone."

A few of the greener crew gasped, Web's voice was cold as ice "Status of the Covenant fleet."

There wasn't an officer within earshot that couldn't hear how shaken Kray was "Unchanged, they're holding position."

"Damn right they are." Web was teetering on disobeying orders and heading towards the alien aggressors with everything he had.

A few short minutes later, the brilliant light of the _Athens _exploding washed out every screen on the bridge. "Son of a BITCH!" Web was way passed unhappy. "Nichols, inform Fleet Com I request permission to engage the Covenant!"

Nichols swallowed hard, and opened a channel with someone way above her pay grade. "Relaying message, sir."

Web knew he would be denied, but he couldn't just sit back and watch the defense platforms wink out without firing a shot.

Some painfully long minutes later, the Covenant fleet began to lurch towards the _Lancelot_ and 80 some-odd other UNSC ships of the line. Web was ready for this, "Get the MAC guns to 100%! Launch all remaining Longswords, fighters ordered to intercept craft coming from the second Assault Carrier. I want every Archer Missile locked on CCS-E-3. Bring the reactor to 110% and set and intercept course. Inform the _Lake Champlain_ and _Intrepid_, I think they'll like to join us. "

A flurry of acknowledgements and orders sprang out from every station as the _Lancelot_ and her frigate escorts dashed towards the handful of Covenant ships. "Launch Archer Missiles, standby MAC control, staggered fire, two second interval." Web counted the seconds as hundreds of dots streamed from his ship and the two on his flanks towards the unlucky bastards on the Covenant cruiser. Web's stomach turned when he saw the plasma cannons begin to glow.

Ensign Rodriquez yelled from his station, terror in his voice. "Commander, they're prepar-"

"Stow it Ensign! MAC guns STANDBY for my command." The travel time of those Archers was going to cost Web some of his crew, and maybe even all of them. Streaks of plasma jumped away from the Covenant fleet towards the defending UNSC ships. "Standby… MAC 1, FIRE!" _One… two… _"_Intrepid_, fire MAC!" _One… two… _"_Champlain, _fire MAC!" _One… two…_ "MAC 2, FIRE! Hard to port, full evasive maneuvers!"

Web watched as his first heavy MAC round seemed to harmlessly bounce off the shimmering shield of the nearly two-kilometer long cruiser. The shield flared again as the _Intrepid's _shell impacted, and gave the tell-tale flicker of death when the round fired by the _Champlain _hit. Exactly two seconds later, the second shot from the _Lancelot_ created a massive dent in the nose of the bulbous craft, and short lived explosions erupted from stem to stern. Web could only assume some damage had been done to the engines, the Covenant cruiser began to list starboard, and hard.

But the crippled enemy vessel wasn't the only thing visible, three massive balls of plasma were growing quite large and still heading towards the naked Titanium-A of Web's destroyer. _Time to pay the piper_. "All hands, brace for impact!" People all over the ship grabbed whatever they could and held on for dear life. Some prayed, some screamed, most just hoped they weren't near enough to the plasma to be boiled alive.

But it was not to be. The ship did not shutter, the hull did not breach, and no one was vaporized by super-hot plasma.

The confusion on the bridge was palpable. Web barked at his sensor officer, "Did someone take the hit for us?"

If someone had been sitting behind the display at Kray's console, they would have seen her eyes almost pop out of her head. "Affirmative sir, but it's not one of ours. It just popped out of nowhere directly in the path of the plasma. Looks like it has shields, and they're holding. I have nothing in the database that matches this thing's silhouette."

"Conn, let's take a look." Web knew there was still a battle going on, but this unknown could be a problem, and if it was he wanted it taken care of.

The massive UNSC destroyer slowed and turned towards the ship that had absorbed three plasma blasts. "What the hell is that… comm, open a channel"

Nichols directed the _Lancelot_'s communications array towards whatever was out there, and started broadcasting "Channel is open sir."

"Unknown vessel this is Commander Andrew Web of the UNSC Destroyer _Lancelot_, identify yourself or we will fire upon."

A little bit of static and some familiar chirps and beeps of solar radiation wreaking havoc on communications equipment later, a faint reply came over the speakers.

"Commander Web, this is Colonel Sobel of the United States Airforce Vessel Daedalus, would you mind telling me what reality this is?"


End file.
